SPECIAL PURPOSE DIODES

CHAPTER NO. 03

S. Hashim Bukhari

Saturday, October 15, 2022

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ZENER DIODE
“A zener diode is a silicon pn junction device that is
designed for operation in the reverse breakdown region”.

The zener diode is used for voltage regulation and like the
general purpose rectifier diode. The schematic symbol for a
zener diode is shown in Figure 3-1

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VOLTAGE REGULATION
Definition:

“A voltage regulation provides a constant dc output voltage that

is essentially independent of the input voltage”

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VI CHARACTERISTIC OF RECTIFIER DIODE
& ZENER DIODE
The VI characteristic with normal operating regions for rectifier diode
and for zener diode is shown in a Figure 3.2. If a zener diode is
forward-biased, it operates the same as a rectifier diode.

4
REVERSE BREAKDOWN IN ZENER
DIODE
As Zener diodes are designed to operate in reverse breakdown.
Two types of reverse breakdown in a zener diode are :

 Avalanche Breakdown
 Zener Breakdown

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AVALANCHE BREAK DOWN
The avalanche breakdown occurs in both rectifier and zener
diodes at a sufficiently high reverse voltage. Zener diodes
with breakdown voltages greater than approximately 5V
operate predominately in avalanche breakdown

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ZENER BREAK DOWN
Zener breakdown occurs in a zener diode at low reverse
voltages. A zener diode is heavily doped to reduce the
breakdown voltage. This causes a very thin (Narrow)
depletion region. Zener diodes with breakdown
voltages of less than approximately 5V operate
predominately in zener breakdown

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BREAKDOWN CHARACTERISTICS
The reverse portion of a zener diode's characteristic curve is shown in
Figure 3-3. As the reverse voltage (VR) is increased, the reverse current
(IR) remains extremely small up to the knee of the curve. The reverse
current is also called the zener current, lz

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BREAKDOWN CHARACTERISTICS
From the bottom of the knee , the zener breakdown voltage (Vz) remains
essentially constant although it increases slightly as the zener current,
lz, increases.

This regulating ability is the key feature of the zener diode. It

maintains a nearly constant voltage across its terminals over a
specified range of reverse current values.

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MINIMUM VALUE OF REVERSE
CURRENT (IZK)
A minimum value of reverse current, (IZK) must be maintained in
order to keep the diode in breakdown for voltage regulation. From
breakdown curve, when the reverse current is reduced below the
knee of the curve, the voltage decreases drastically and regulation
is lost

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MAXIMUM VALUE OF REVERSE
CURRENT (IZM)
The value of reverse current at which the diode may be damaged
due to the excessive power dissipation is called Maximum value of
reverse current (IZM)

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CONCLUSION

We conclude that the zener diode maintains a constant voltage

across its termials for the values of reverse current ranging from
IZK to IZM

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ZENER EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT

The Ideal approximation of a zener diode is simply a battery having

a value equal to the zener votage.
The Practical equivalent of a zener diode include the zener
resistance Zz with zener voltage source.

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ZENER EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT
As from figure a change in zener current ΔIz produces a small
change in zener voltage ΔVz. So, by ohm’s law the ratio of ΔVz to
ΔIz is the impedance expressed by the following formula;

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EXAMPLE # 3.1
A zener diode exhibits a certain change in Vz for a certain
change in lz on a portion of the linear characteristic curve
between IZK and IZM as illustrated in Figure 3-5. What is the
zener impedance?

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SOLUTION

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EXAMPLE # 3.2
A 1N4736 zener diode has a ZZT of 3.5Ω. The data sheet gives VZT =
6.8 V at IZT = 37 mA and IZK = 1 mA. What is the voltage across the
zener terminals when the current is 50 mA? When the current is 25
mA? Figure represents the zener diode.

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SOLUTION

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Zener Diode(continued…)
Temperature Coefficient:

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Zener Diode(continued…)
 Example:

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Zener Diode(continued…)

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Zener Diode(continued…)
Example:

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Zener Diode Applications

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Example:

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Solution:

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Example:

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Solution:

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Solution:

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Zener Limiting:
Zener diodes can be used in ac applications to limit

voltage swings to desired levels.

Part (a) shows a zener used to limit

the positive peak of a signal voltage

to the selected zener voltage.
During the negative alternation, the zener acts as a
forward-biased diode and limits the negative voltage to -0.7
V.
When the zener is turned around,

as in part (b). the negative peak is

limited by zener action and the
positive voltage is limited to +0.7 V.
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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
 Two back-to-back zeners limit both peaks to the zener
voltage +/-0.7 V, as shown in part (d). During the positive
alternation, D2 is functioning as the zener limiter and D1
is functioning as a forward-biased diode. During the
negative alternation, the roles are reversed.

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Zener Diode Applications(continued…)
Example 7:

Sol:

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Varactor Diode
 Varactor diodes are also known as variable-capacitance
diodes because the junction capacitance varies with the
amount of reverse-bias voltage.
 A varactor is a diode that always operates in reverse-
bias and is doped to maximize the inherent capacitance
of the depletion region.
 The depletion region (widened by the reverse bias) acts
as a capacitor dielectric because of its nonconductive
characteristic. The p and n regions are conductive and
act as the capacitor plates.

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Varactor Diode(continued…)
 Recall that capacitance
is determined by the
parameters of plate
area (A), dielectric
constant (E), and
dielectric thickness (d),
as expressed in the following formula:

 In a varactor diode, these capacitance parameters are

controlled by the method of doping near the pn junction
and the size and geometry of the diode's construction.
 Common symbol for a varactor diode is given by,
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Optical Diodes
 Two types of optical diodes will be discussed, the light-
emitting diode(LED) and the photodiode.
LED: The basic operation of the light-emitting diode (LED)
is as follows.
 When the device is forward-biased, electrons cross the

pn junction from the n-type material and recombine with

holes in the p-type material. These free electrons are in
the conduction band and at a higher energy than the
holes in the valence band. When recombination takes
place, the recombining electrons release energy in the
form of heat and light.
 A large exposed surface area on one layer of the semi

conductive material permits the photons to be emitted as

visible light. This process, called electroluminescence.
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 Optical Diodes(continued…)
 Symbol of LED is,

 Electroluminescence in forwards
biased LED can be seen as,

 Various impurities are added during

the doping process to establish the
wavelength of the emitted light. The
wavelength determines the colour of
the light and if it is visible or infrared
(IR).

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Optical Diodes(continued…)

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Optical Diodes(continued…)
LED Light Emission:

The wavelength of light determines whether it is visible or

infrared. An LED emits light over a specified range of
wavelengths as indicated by the spectral output curves in
figure(a) for visible LEDs and in figure(b) is for a typical
infrared LED. The normalized output of the visible red LED
peaks at 660 nm, the yellow at 590 nm, green at 540 nm,
and blue at 460 nm. The output for the infrared LED peaks
at 940 nm. 41
Optical Diodes(continued…)
Applications:
Standard LEDs are used for indicator lamps and readout

displays on a wide variety of instruments, ranging from

consumer appliances to scientific apparatus.
A common type of display device using LEDs is the seven

segment display. Combinations of the segments

form the ten decimal digits as illustrated in figure
(a). Each segment in the display is an LED. By
forward-biasing selected
combinations of
segments, any decimal
digit and a decimal point
can be formed.
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Optical Diodes(continued…)

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Optical Diodes(continued…)

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Optical Diodes(continued…)
 Operation of a photodiode can be seen in the following
figure,

 When a light beam strikes the photodiode, it conducts an

amount of reverse current that is proportional to the light45
Other type of diodes

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Other type of diodes(continued…)

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Other type of diodes(continued…)
The Schottky Diode:
Schottky diodes are used primarily in high-frequency and

fast-switching applications, also known as hot-carrier

diodes. A Schottky diode symbol is shown in figure(a).
A schottky diode is formed by joining a doped

semiconductor region (usually n-type) with a metal such as

gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than a pn junction, there is
a metal-to-semiconductor junction, as shown in Figure(b).
The forward voltage drop is typically around 0.3 V.

(a) (b)
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Other type of diodes(continued…)
 The Schottky diode operates only with majority carriers.
There are no minority carriers and thus no reverse
leakage current as in other types of diodes.
 The metal region is heavily occupied with conduction-
band electrons, and the n-type semiconductor region is
lightly doped. When forward-biased, the higher energy
electrons in the n region are injected into the metal
region where they give up their excess energy very
rapidly. Since there are no minority carriers, as in a
conventional rectifier diode, there is a very rapid
response to a change in bias.
 The Schottky is a fast-switching diode, and most of its
applications make use of this property. It can be used in
high frequency applications and in many digital circuits to
decrease switching times. 49
Other type of diodes(continued…)
The PIN Diode:
A pin diode can also be used in attenuator applications

because its resistance can be controlled by the amount of

current. Pin diodes are also used as photo detectors in fibre
optic systems.
The pin diode consists of heavily doped p and n regions

separated by an intrinsic(i) region, as shown in figure(a).

When reverse-biased, the pin diode acts like a nearly
constant capacitance. When forward-biased, it acts like a
current-controlled variable resistance. This is shown in
figure(b) and (c).

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Other type of diodes(continued…)
The PIN Diode:

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Other type of diodes(continued…)
The Tunnel Diode:
The tunnel diode exhibits a special characteristic known

as negative resistance. This feature makes it useful in

oscillator and microwave amplifier applications. Two
alternate symbols are shown in figure below.

Tunnel diodes are constructed by doping the p and n

regions much more heavily than in a conventional rectifier
diode. This heavy doping results in an extremely narrow
depletion region. The heavy doping allows conduction for
all reverse voltages so that there is no breakdown effect as
with the conventional rectifier diode. 52
Other type of diodes(continued…)
Laser Diode:
The term laser stands for light amplification by stimulated

emission of radiation.
Laser light is monochromatic, which means that it consists

of a single colour and not a mixture of colours.

Laser light is also called coherent light, a single

wavelength, as compared to incoherent light, which

consists of a wide band of wavelengths. The laser diode
normally emits coherent light, whereas the LED emits
incoherent light. The symbols are the same as shown as

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Other type of diodes(continued…)
 The basic construction of a laser
diode is shown in the figure.
The basic operation is as follows.
 The laser diode is forward-biased by

an external voltage source. As

electrons move through the junction,
recombination occurs just as in an
ordinary diode.
 As electrons fall into holes to recombine, photons are

released.
A released photon can strike an atom, causing another
photon to be released. As the forward current is
increased, more electrons enter the depletion region and
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cause more photons to be emitted.
Other type of diodes(continued…)
 Eventually some of the photons that
are randomly drifting within the
depletion region strike the reflected
surfaces perpendicularly.
These reflected photons move along
the depletion region, striking atoms
and releasing additional photons.

 This back- and-forth movement of photons increases as

the generation of photons until a very intense beam of
laser light is formed by the photons. Each photon
produced in this process is identical to the other photons
in energy level. So a single wavelength of intense light
emerges from the laser diode. 55
Other type of diodes(continued…)
 Laser diodes have a threshold level of current above
which the laser action occurs and below which the diode
behaves essentially as an LED, emitting incoherent light.
 Application: Laser diodes and photodiodes are used in
the pick-up system of compact disk (CD) players. A lens
arrangement focuses the laser beam from the diode onto
the CD surface. As the CD rotates, the lens and beam
follow the track under control of a servomotor. The laser
light, which is altered by the pits and flats along the
recorded track, is reflected back from the track through a
lens and optical system to infrared photodiodes. The
signal from the photodiodes is then used to reproduce
the digitally recorded sound.

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